Despite what Donald Trump says publicly, the tax plan that his administration outlined is a potentially huge windfall for the wealthiest Americans - including Trump and his cabinet - would not directly benefit the bottom third of the population, and provide mixed to modest results for the middle class.nytimes.com(See also False Statements, Trump Taxes, Trump Cabinet)

Nearly half of all middle-class families would pay more in taxes in 2026 than they would under current rules if the proposed House tax bill became law, and about 33% would pay more in 2018, a striking finding for a bill promoted by Donald Trump and congressional Republicans as a middle-class tax cut.nytimes.com(See also False Statements, Department of the Treasury, Steven Mnuchin)

Millions of middle-class families — particularly those with children — would see an immediate tax increase, averaging about $2,000.

2017.11.15

An awkward — but extremely telling — moment arose at a Wall Street Journal “CEO Council” event that featured the Trump administration’s top economic policy hand, Gary Cohn, as a key speaker, as few in the audience seemed enthusiastic about the Republican tax reform bill.vox.com(See also Department of the Treasury)

2017.12.20

Republicans are on the verge of passing the most significant overhaul of the tax code since 1986, after the Senate passed the GOP plan, cutting the corporate tax rate dramatically providing new breaks for businesses, lowering income tax bills in 2018 for the vast majority of households, though the wealthy would see far more relief than the middle class and working poor.washingtonpost.com(See also Unprecedented Actions, Trump Taxes, Affordable Care Act)

2017.12.20

The Republican tax bill doesn't actually simplify the tax code, as most of the loopholes of the current system are still in place.fivethirtyeight.com(See also False Statements)

Donald Trump would save about $11 million on his taxes, if the new Republican tax overhaul were applied to his 2005 tax return, roughly a 30 percent cut, while also saving another $4.4 million on his eventual estate tax bill.nytimes.com(See also Corruption, Conflicts of Interest)

The Trump administration has waived part of the punishment for five megabanks whose affiliates were convicted and fined for manipulating global interest rates, one of which is Deutsche Bank — which is owed at least $130 million by President Donald Trump and his business empire, and has also been fined for its role in a Russian money laundering scheme.ibtimes.com(See also Conflicts of Interest, Assaults on Government, Corruption, Russia)

2018.01.31

The Congressional Budget Office said on Wednesday that the United States is expected to bump up against its borrowing limit a month earlier than previously expected, a function of last year’s $1.5 trillion tax cut, which is resulting in less revenue for the Treasury Department.nytimes.com(See also Department of the Treasury, Steven Mnuchin)

2018.02.11

Donald Trump will offer a budget plan that falls far short of eliminating the government’s deficit over 10 years, conceding that huge tax cuts and new spending increases make this goal unattainable, despite the fact that eliminating the budget deficit over 10 years has been a North Star for the Republican Party for several decades, and GOP lawmakers took the government to the brink of default in 2011 when they demanded a vote on a amendment to the Constitution that would prohibit the federal government from spending more than it takes in.washingtonpost.com(See also Hypocrisy)

2018.03.02

Billionaire investor and longtime Trump confidant Carl Icahn dumped $31.3 million of stock in a company heavily dependent on steel last week, just days before Trump announced plans to impose steep tariffs on steel imports.thinkprogress.org(See also Corruption, Conflicts of Interest)

2018.03.02

Donald Trump dug into his protectionist trade position, arguing that trade wars are good and vowing to slap reciprocal tariffs on any goods even as his actions rattle markets and anger US allies, despite warnings from his own cabinet and Republicans in Congress.cnn.com(See also Unpresidential Behavior)

A trade pact originally conceived by the United States to counter China’s growing economic might in Asia now has a new target: Donald Trump’s embrace of protectionism, as a group of 11 nations — including allies like Japan, Canada and Australia — signed a broad trade deal that challenges Mr. Trump’s view of trade as a zero-sum game filled with winners and losers.nytimes.com(See also Foreign Policy, Trans-Pacific Partnership)

2018.03.08

Donald Trump imposed tariffs on imported steel and aluminum but offered relief to some U.S. allies, and opened the door for other countries to "negotiate" for exemptions.washingtonpost.com(See also Trade, NAFTA, Foreign Policy)